Display of Communication System Usage Statistics

ABSTRACT

Among other disclosures, a method may include collecting historical communication data, personal data and usage statistics relating to a portion of a plurality of communications, a sender of one or more of the communications or one or more recipients of the communications. The method may include depositing the collected data into a repository. The method may include presenting the usage statistics in response to user behavior.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/951,880, filed on Jul. 25, 2007, entitled, “Presentation ofPersonal and Public Data Queried Through Implicit Actions”, the contentsof which are incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Electronic communications between persons for both business and personaluse have increased substantially in recent years. In addition to thenumber of communications increasing, the number of availablecommunication mediums has also increased. In addition to e-mailcommunications and telephone communications, additional forms ofcommunication have become common in recent years, including instantmessaging, social network messaging and commenting, message boardposting, text messaging, and Voice Over Internet Protocolcommunications.

These additional forms of communication have led to individualsexchanging communications with more people than ever before, which leadsto an even higher increase in the number of communications sent andreceived by an individual.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to collecting and presenting historicalcommunication data personal data and usage statistics.

In a first aspect, a computer implemented method for presentinginformation related to historical communication and personal data caninclude collecting historical communication data, personal data andusage statistics relating to a portion of a plurality of communications,a sender of one or more of the communications or one or more recipientsof the communications. The method can further include depositing thecollected data into a repository of historical communication data,personal data and usage statistics. The method can further includepresenting one or more items in the repository, in response to userbehavior selected from the group comprising opening a communication,viewing a communication, reading a communication, writing acommunication, performing a search, selecting a person's name, selectinga communication summary, and selecting an attribute associated with theone or more items.

The method can further include querying one or more sources ofinformation to derive the historical communication data, the personaldata and usage statistics. The method can further include requestinginformation from a sender of a communication or one or more recipientsof the communication. The method can further include displaying the oneor more items in an additional portion of a user interface (e.g., in apanel) within an e-mail client, web browser, or instant message window.The method can further include displaying the one or more itemsintegrated with a body of the communication using one or more displaymethods selected from the group comprising highlighting, underlining,adding hyper links, adding text, adding images, adding video, and addingattachments.

The method can further include tracking mouse movements, mouselocations, keyboard strokes, mouse clicks, or active windows in order todetermine if the user has made an implicit request to view one or moreitems in the repository. The method can further include sharing some orall of the data in the repository among a network of participants. Themethod can further include sharing different amounts of data from therepository with each participant based on preference settings. Themethod can further include allowing a user to select one or more of theone or more presented items and automatically generating a communicationin response to the user selection.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows an example e-mail client with a profile side bar.

FIG. 1B shows an example of a profile.

FIG. 1C shows an example of a conversation thread profile.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show example summaries of communications sent/received.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example communication delivery system.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process 300 for collecting andpresenting historical communication and personal data.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A shows an example system 100 for displaying a profile containinginformation about communications to, from, and involving an individual.The system 100 includes an e-mail client 102 which can include an inboxviewing panel 104 and an e-mail viewing panel 106. The e-mail client 102can be a standard stand alone e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook orEudora. In an alternate implementation the e-mail client 102 can be aweb based e-mail client such as Yahoo! mail or Gmail that is viewedusing a web browser. The e-mail client 102 can allow a user to view alist of e-mails in the inbox viewing panel 104. The user can select ane-mail in the inbox viewing panel 104 causing the e-mail client 102 todisplay the selected e-mail in the e-mail viewing panel 106.

In some implementations, in stead of an e-mail client, the system 100can include an instant messaging client, a social network client, a textmessage client, or another communication viewing client. It is to beunderstood that while portions of this description describe systems andmethods involving e-mail communications, these same systems and methodscan be implemented using other forms of communication, including instantmessages, phone calls, text messages, internet message board postings,social network messages or comments, or voice over IP communications.

The e-mail client 102 also includes a profile 108. In the exampledepicted, the profile 108 is displayed as an additional panel within thee-mail client 102 positioned to the right of the inbox viewing panel 104and the e-mail viewing panel 106. This additional panel is sometimesreferred to as a side bar. In some implementations, the profile 108 canbe located at the top, bottom, left side, or any other location withinthe e-mail client 102. In some implementations, the profile 108 can bedisplayed in a stand alone window, in a pop-up bubble displayed over aportion of the e-mail client 102, or integrated as part of one of theother viewing panels displayed by the e-mail client 102. For example, apop up bubble containing a profile 108 could appear when an e-mail isselected in the inbox viewing panel 104, when an e-mail address orportion of text in the e-mail viewing panel 106 is selected, or when amouse icon is moved over an e-mail address, name, icon, or portion oftext. In another example, information can be integrated as part of thebody of an e-mail, such as inserting a picture next to a person's namein the body of an e-mail, or inserting a person's name next to a phonenumber in an e-mail or attachment.

The profile 108 can contain information relating to a sender of ane-mail, a recipient of an e-mail, the body of an e-mail, an attachmentto an e-mail, or a person or topic mentioned in an e-mail. In alternateimplementations, the profile 108 can contain information related to asender, recipient, body, attachment or topic of another communicationmedium such as an instant message, a phone call, a text message, aninternet message board, a social network message or comment, or a voiceover IP communication. The user can implicitly request information to bedisplayed in the profile 108 by selecting an e-mail in the inbox viewingpanel 104 or selecting text within a header or body of an e-mail in thee-mail viewing panel 106. In some implementations, the profile caninclude additional information (e.g., derived information such as searchresults derived from a topic mentioned in a communication).

In some implementations, the profile 108 can display information aboutan entity other than a person. For example, a communication may bereceived from an automated system, such as from a travel website,on-line retailer, an advertising service, or a mailing list. The profile108 can display information related to the sender of the communication.For example, if the communication received has been sent from a travelwebsite, information related to the travel website, or othercommunications from the travel website can be displayed. In anotherexample, if the communication received has been sent from an mailinglist, information related to the mailing list, or other communicationsreceived from the mailing list can be displayed. As yet another example,if the communication received has been sent from a business entity,information about the business entity (e.g., address, telephone number,contact person name) can be included in the profile.

For example, the user can select an e-mail 110 in the inbox viewingpanel 104 causing the profile 108 to display information related to asender 112 of the e-mail 110. In another example, the user can select ane-mail address 114 or name of a recipient of the e-mail 110 in order todisplay information related to the recipient in the profile 108. Inanother example, the user can select an attachment to the e-mail 110 inorder to display information related to the attachment in the profile108. In yet another example, the user can select the name of a person, auser name of a person, or a particular topic listed in a header, a body,or an attachment of the e-mail 110 in order to display informationrelated to the person or topic in the profile 108.

In some implementations, the system 100 can determine if the user hasmade an implicit request to view information in the profile 108 bytracking, for example, user input of the form of mouse movements, mouselocations, keyboard strokes, mouse clicks, or active windows. Implicitrequests to view information in the profile 108 can include opening,viewing, reading or writing an e-mail or other communication medium. Forexample, if the user starts to compose an instant message, the profile108 can display information related to the recipient of the instantmessage. In another example, if the user views a social network profile,either within the e-mail client 102 or in a separate web browser, theprofile 108 can display information related to a person associated withthe social network profile.

In some implementations, the user can make a specific request to viewinformation in the profile 108 by performing a search or clicking on aperson's name.

In some implementations, the system 100 can be linked to a phone (e.g.,voice over IP phone) used by the user. For example, the system 100 caninclude means for detecting when the user makes or receives a phone callor text message using the phone and display information related to arecipient or initiator of the phone call or text message in the profile108.

In the example depicted in FIG. 1A, the user has selected the e-mail 110in the inbox viewing panel 104 and header information and a portion ofthe body of the e-mail 110 is displayed in the e-mail viewing panel 106.The e-mail 110 was received from the sender 112. The system 100 hasdetermined that the user has made an implicit request to viewinformation related to the sender 112 by selecting the e-mail 110. Inresponse to this implicit request, the system 100 displays in theprofile 108 information related to the sender 112.

In the example, the information displayed in the profile 108 includes ane-mail address 116, a phone number 118, communication statistics 120(also known as usage statistics), a contact network 122, a conversationlist 124, and a files exchanged list 126. In some implementations, theprofile 108 can display additional contact information such as name,screen names, social network profile names, social network profile URLs,physical addresses, website URLs, additional e-mail addresses, oradditional telephone numbers.

In the example, the communication statistics 120 include any type ofmessage usage statistics, such as the number of e-mails received fromthe sender 112 and the number of e-mails sent to the sender 112. In someimplementations, additional communication statistics 120 can bedisplayed, including times of communications, dates of communications,types of communications, volume of communications, length ofcommunications, or speed of responses. For example, a statistic for theaverage amount of time it takes the sender 112 to respond to e-mailssent by the user can be displayed. In another example, the times of daythat the sender 112 is most likely to respond to an e-mail or other formof communication can be displayed as a communication statistic 120. Inanother example, a statistic can be displayed that lists the percentageof communications between the user and the sender 112 that occur using atelephone, the percentage of communications that occur using instantmessaging, the percentage of communications that occur using e-mails, orthe percentage of communications that occur using a social networkwebsite as a percentage of all communications between the user and thesender 112. In another example, the number of communications sent orreceived on which the sender 112 has been copied can be displayed as acommunication statistic 120. In another example, the number ofcommunications received by the user on which the sender 112 has alsobeen listed as a recipient can be displayed as a communication statistic120.

In some implementations, the communication statistics 120 that aredisplayed can be chosen by the user. The user can choose to have adefault set of communication statistics displayed, or the user canselect which individual communication statistics 120 are to bedisplayed. The user can choose to have the same set of communicationstatistics 120 displayed for each profile 108 or the user can choose tohave a different set of communication statistics 120 displayed dependingon which person or topic the currently displayed profile 108 isassociated with.

The contact network 122 displayed in the profile 108 shows a list ofcontacts 128 that are associated with the sender 112. In the exampledepicted, the contacts 128 are shown as e-mail addresses. In someimplementations, the contacts 128 can be listed as names, screen names,nick names, employee numbers, social network profile names, socialnetwork profile URLs, telephone numbers, website URLs, or anycombination of these.

In some implementations, details about a contact 128 can be displayedadjacent to the contact 128 in the contact network 122. These detailscan include time since last communication, last form of communication,frequency of communications, total numbers of communications, or otherrelated data.

The contacts 128 listed in the contact network 122 are contacts that areassociated with the sender 112. The contacts 128 can include recipientsof communications from the sender 112, recipients of communications ofwhich the sender 112 is also a recipient, individuals named in a body orheader of a communication with the sender 112, or individuals named in adocument that is attached to a communication with the sender 112. Forexample, a person who was copied on an e-mail between the user and thesender 112 can be listed as a contact 128 in the contact network 122. Inthe example depicted, the header of the e-mail 110 as shown in thee-mail viewing panel 106 lists all.houston@enron.com as a recipient ofthe e-mail 110. The contact network 122 lists all.houston@enron.com as acontact 128 of the sender 112. In another example, if the user receivesan e-mail from the sender 112 with the subject line “Matt Smith'sbirthday party”, Matt Smith can be listed as a contact 128 in thecontact network 122 even if Matt Smith has never been included in orbeen the recipient of any communications between the user and the sender112. In another example, if the user posts a comment to a social networkprofile page belonging to the sender 112 and a person named Eric Johnsonhas also posted a comment to the social network profile page, or islisted as a friend of the sender 112 on the social network profile page,Eric Johnson can be listed as a contact 128 in the contact network 122.

In some implementations, the contacts 128 listed in the contact network122 can be collected from sources other than communications between theuser and the sender 112. In one implementation, the sender 112 canprovide a list of contacts to the user to include in the contact network122 for the sender 112. The sender 112 can provide the list of contactsto the user through sharing the list of contacts on a shared network, orby sending a communication to the user with, for example, the list ofcontacts in a body of the communication or in an attachment to thecommunication.

In another implementation, the system 100 can collect data from outsidesources in order to determine contacts 128 to be listed in the contactnetwork 122. The system 100 can query various sources to extractinformation on contacts that can be associated with the sender 112 andlisted in the contact network 122. Sources of information that can bequeried to derive contacts associated with the sender 112 can includeweb search engines, people search engines, social networks, personal webpages, telephone directories, scanned business card data or companywebsite profiles.

For example, the system 100 can perform a search of a social networkbased on the sender 112's name, e-mail address, screen names or otherinformation about the sender 112. The system can then identify a profilepage on the social network belonging to the sender 112. Any contactsthat are publicly listed on the social network profile page can belisted in the contact network 122 of the sender 112 even if the user hasnever communicated with the sender 112 using the social network orviewed the profile page of the sender 112 on this social network. Insome implementations, the system 100 can access and extract contactslisted on a private social network profile page belonging to the sender112 if the user has proper access information or authorization to viewthe private social network profile page of the sender 112.

In another example, the system 100 can use a search engine to perform asearch based on the sender 112's name, e-mail address, screen names orother information about the sender 112 in order to identify web pagesthat may contain contacts that can be associated with the sender 112.For example, the system 100 can use a search engine to perform a searchbased on the sender 112's name. If one of the search results returned isfor a blog written by a person named Mark Adams that mentions the sender112, then Mark Adams can be listed as a contact 128 in the contactnetwork 122. In another example, the system 100 can determine that thesender 112 works for the same company as a person who has sent adifferent communication to the user. This person can then be listed as acontact 128 of the sender 112. In some implementations, the system 100can collect data using a peer to peer network.

Information that can be used to collect information about contacts 128or other information displayed in the profile 108 can include e-mailaddresses, names, screen names, social network profile names, phonenumbers, personal website URLs, social network profile URLs, or physicaladdresses.

The contacts 128 displayed in the contact network 122 can be listed inorder based on a ranking system. Criteria used to rank the contacts 128can include total volume of communication, volume of communication overa period of time, length of communications, importance level ofcommunications, types of communications, contents of communications,time of communications; methods by which the contacts 128 weredetermined to be associated with the sender 112, or any combination ofthese. For example, the contacts 128 can be ranked based on the totalnumber of communications between the user and the sender 112 for which acontact is also a recipient of the communication. In another example,the contacts 128 can be ranked based on the number of communicationsbetween the user and the sender 112 for which a contact is also arecipient of the communication over the course of the last three weeks.In another example, the contacts 128 can be ranked based on the numberof communications between the user and a contact for which the sender112 is also a recipient of the communication.

In another example, the contacts 128 can be ranked based on the lengthof communications between the user and the sender 112 for which acontact is also a recipient of the communication with longercommunications being ranked higher than shorter communications. Inanother example, contacts that are listed on communications flagged asurgent or important can be ranked higher than other contacts. In anotherexample, the user can choose to have contacts who mainly communicatewith the user or sender 112 using e-mail ranked higher than contacts whomainly communicate with the user or sender 112 using instant message orsocial networks. In another example, the system 100 can use the contentsof communications involving each contact 128 and the sender 112 todetermine if communications involving the contact 128 and the sender 112are primarily business related or social related communications. Thesystem 100 can then give a higher ranking to contacts associated withbusiness communications than contacts associated with socialcommunications.

In another example, contacts who are associated with more recentcommunications between the user and the sender 112 can be ranked higherthan contacts associated with older communications between the user andthe sender 112. In another example, contacts that have been determinedto be associated with the sender 112 based on e-mail communication canbe ranked higher than contacts that have been determined to beassociated with the sender 112 based on web searches.

In some implementations, each contact 128 listed in the contact network122 can be a link to more information about the contact 128. Forexample, if a contact 128 is clicked on, selected, or interacted with bythe user, a profile containing information about the selected contact128 can be displayed. In another example, the user can hover a mousecursor or other selection tool over a contact 128. This can cause apop-up bubble containing additional information about the contact 128 tobe displayed.

The conversation list 124 can display a list of recent communicationsbetween the user and the sender 112 or involving the user and the sender112. The communications displayed on the conversation list 124 can be alist of past e-mails, text messages, instant messages, telephone calls,social network communications, message board posts or voice over IPcommunications involving the sender 112. In some implementations, theconversation list 124 can be a list of recent conversation threadsinvolving the sender 112. A conversation thread is a series ofcommunications that can be grouped together. For example, a series ofe-mails having the same or similar subjects can be grouped together as aconversation thread. In another example, a group of instant messagesbetween the sender 112 and the user that occurred over a specific periodof time can be grouped together as a conversation thread. For example,if the user sent and received a series of instant messages from thesender 112 over a three hour period earlier in the day, and thatconversation was separated from another series of instant messagesbetween the user and the sender 112 by a period of 2 hours, the instantmessages that were sent and received during that three hour period canbe grouped together as a conversation thread. In another example, aseries of telephone calls between the user and the sender 112 thatoccurred during a set time period can be grouped together as aconversation thread.

The communications or conversation threads displayed in the conversationlist 124 can be listed in order based on a ranking system. In oneimplementation, conversation threads can be listed in order of mostrecent communications to oldest communications. In anotherimplementation, conversation threads can be listed in order of oldest tomost recent. In another implementation, conversation threads can belisted in order of importance with conversation threads containingcommunications marked as urgent being ranked higher than conversationthreads with fewer communications marked urgent or no communicationsmarked urgent. In another implementation, the system 100 can determinewhich conversation threads are work related and which conversationthreads are social. The conversation threads that are work related canthen be ranked higher than the conversation threads that are social. Inanother implementation, conversation threads can be ranked based on thenumber of communications in the conversation thread.

Communications that are listed in the conversation list can includecommunications initiated by the sender 112, communications for which thesender 112 is a recipient, communications on which the sender 112 hasbeen copied, or communications in which the sender 112 is mentioned.

In the example depicted in FIG. 1A, the conversation list 124 displays alist of recent conversation threads involving the user and the sender112. The conversation threads displayed are for recent e-mailcommunications involving the user and the sender 112. The e-mails ineach conversation thread are grouped by subject. The conversation list124 displays the subject for each conversation thread, the number ofe-mails in each conversation thread, and the amount of time that haspassed since the last communication for this conversation thread wassent or received. In some implementations, additional information can bedisplayed for each conversation thread, including: time and date of thelast communication in the conversation thread, time and date of thefirst communication in the conversation thread, other contacts involvedin the conversation thread, average length of communications in theconversation thread, total number of people involved in the conversationthread, level of importance of the communications in the conversationthread, attachments shared in the conversation thread, calendar eventsrelated to the conversation thread, other forms of communication relatedto the conversation thread, relevant web data, or average response timeof communications in the conversation thread.

In some implementations, the conversation list 124 can display a summaryor the first few lines of the most recent communication for eachconversation list. In another implementation, the conversation list 124can display a summary or the first few lines of the first communicationfor each conversation list. In another implementation, the conversationlist 124 can display a summary or the first few lines of the lastcommunication initiated by the sender 112 for each conversation list.

The files exchanged list 126 displays a list of files that were attachedto communications involving the user and the sender 112. This caninclude communications initiated by the user for which the sender 112was a recipient, communications initiated by the sender 112 for whichthe user was a recipient, or communications initiated by a third partyfor which the sender 112 and the user were both recipients. The filesexchanged list 126 can also include files that were exchanged betweenthe user and the sender 112 with out using a communication medium. Forexample, the files exchanged list 126 can include files that weretransferred from the sender 112's network drive to the user's computeror network drive. In another example, the files exchanged list 126 caninclude files that were transferred to the user's computer or networkdrive from an external hard drive, flash drive, or floppy disk belongingto or populated by the sender 112.

The files displayed in the files exchanged list 126 can be listed inorder based on a ranking system. In one implementation, files can belisted in order of most recently received files to least recentlyreceived files. In another implementation, files can be listed in orderof oldest to most recent. In another implementation, files can be listedin order of importance, with files that were attached to communicationsmarked as urgent being ranked higher than files attached tocommunications that were not marked as urgent. In anotherimplementation, the system 100 can determine which files are workrelated and which files are personal. The files that are work relatedcan then be ranked higher than the files that are personal. In anotherimplementation, files can be ranked based on the size of the files.

In some implementations, the files displayed in the files exchanged list126 can be grouped together. The files can be grouped together based onthe subject of the communications to which the files were attached, filename, file title, date of the file, date of the communication, filetype, or subject matter of the file. For example, if a document hasundergone several rounds of revisions, the different versions of thedocument can be grouped together so that the different versions of thedocument can be easily compared to one another. In another example, anumber of files about rain forests can be grouped together since theyall contain related subject matter. In another example, all image filescan be grouped together so that they can be more easily viewed, oreasily put into a slide show. For example, a group of image files can bedisplayed as a slide show and each slide can contain additionalinformation about the image being displayed, such as who sent the image,recipients of the image, the date the image was sent or received, orother information drawn from one or more communications to which theimage was attached.

In some implementations, the profile 108 can include additionalinformation about the selected e-mail 110. The system 100 can extractinformation from the e-mail 110 and use this information to gather anddisplay data from websites, search engines, or other sources ofinformation. For example, the e-mail 110 may contain information abouttravel arrangements. The e-mail 110 can be an e-mail from an airline,travel agent, travel website or other source. If the e-mail 110 containsinformation about a flight, such as a flight number, an airline, adeparture time, an arrival time, a departure city, or an arrival city,the system 100 can use this information to query search engines ortravel websites for information about the flight. This information caninclude expected departure time, expected arrival time, expected delays,weather in the destination city, weather in the departure city, or anychanges to the flight. This information can then be displayed as part ofthe profile 108. This allows the user to see when changes to travelarrangements have occurred, and easily contact a travel company orairline in order to correct the situation.

In another example, the e-mail 110 can contain information about apurchase from an on-line retailer. The e-mail 110 can contain shippinginformation, shipping status, or order information. If the e-mail 110contains a shipping number for the shipment of a recently purchaseditem, the system 100 can query a search engine or shipping web site toextract information about the current status and expected arrival of theitem. This information can then be displayed as part of the profile 108.

In another example, the e-mail 110 can contain information about an itemor service that the user is interested in purchasing. The system 100 canquery one or more search engines, websites, or on-line retailers todetermine which retailer or website has the best price or currently hasthe item in stock or the service available. This information can then bedisplayed as part of the profile 108.

FIG. 1B shows a profile 130 for a person 132 named “Jen Ertel”. Theprofile 130 for the person 132 can be displayed in response to an actionby a user that indicates either an implicit or direct request to viewthe profile 130 of the person 132. Actions by the user that can causethe profile 130 for the person 132 to be displayed can include viewingor selecting a communication sent by the person 132, viewing orselecting a communication for which the person 132 is listed as arecipient, composing or initiating a communication with the person 132,selecting or clicking on a name, screen name, or e-mail address of theperson 132, or performing a search for information related to the person132.

The profile 130 includes a search bar 134. The search bar 134 can beused to request that information be displayed about a particular person,topic, conversation thread, communication, or file. For example, asearch performed using the search bar 134 and the search string “AllanTate” can result in a profile for a person named Allan Tate beingdisplayed. In another example, a search using the search string“sunday_presentation.ppt” can result in information about a file named“sunday_presentation.ppt” being displayed. In another example, a searchusing the search string “2002 Sales Goals” can result in information tobe displayed regarding communications with the subject “2002 SalesGoals”, containing the phrase “2002 Sales Goals”, or having attachmentsthat contain the phrase “2002 Sales Goals”.

Search criteria that can be used to identify a profile can includenames, screen names, social network profile names, social networkprofile URLs, physical addresses, website URLs, e-mail addresses, e-mailsubject lines, file names, or telephone numbers. For example, a searchusing the search string “allan.tate@example.com” can result in a profilefor a person named “Allan Tate” being displayed. In the example depictedin FIG. 1B, a search for the phone number “(612) 555-1243” may have beenperformed in-order to display the profile 130 for the person 132 named“Jen Ertel”.

The profile 130 can include a title bar 136. The title bar 136 candisplay a name, a nick name, a screen name, a primary e-mail address, orother identifying title for the person 132 so that the user can easilyidentify who the information in the profile 130 is related to.

The profile 130 can also include an image 138. The image 138 can be apicture of the person 132 to help the user more easily identify who theinformation in the profile 130 is related to or to help the useridentify whom he or she is communicating with. For example, if the userreceives an instant message from a person with the screen name“summergirl” the user may not be able to remember who this screen namebelongs to. When the instant message is received, the profile 130 candisplay information about the person with the screen name “summergirl”including a picture of the person as the image 138. This can help theuser to identify whom he or she is communicating with. The image 138 canalso be an image, icon, or picture associated with the person 132. Theimage, icon, or picture can be used to identify the person 132 as abusiness contact, co-worker, friend, social acquaintance, client, orcontractor. For example, all of the profiles 130 for contacts from aparticular company can display a logo for that company. This can helpthe user to quickly identify what relationship he or she has with theseparticular contacts.

The image 138 can be added to the profile 130 by the user, or it can beautomatically extracted from a communication with the person 132 or froma website or profile page belonging to or about the person 132. Forexample, if a social network screen name or URL for the person 132 isknown, an image from the person 132's social network profile page can beextracted and used as the image 138. In another example, if instantmessage communications with the person 132 include an icon thatidentifies the person 132, this instant message icon can be extractedand used as the image 138.

The profile 130 can include communication statistics 140 aboutcommunications involving the person 132. These communication statistics140 can include the statistics as previously described for FIG. 1A. Inthe example shown in FIG. 1B, one of the communication statistics 140displayed is a graph 142 showing what times of day communications arereceived from the person 132 and the relative volume received from theperson 132 at each time of day. This can help the user to determinewhen, or how quickly the person 132 will respond to a new communicationfrom the user. For example, if the user lives in the United States andthe person 132 lives in Germany, most of the communications receivedfrom the person 132 may occur between 5:00 am and 10:00 am of the user'slocal time. The graph 142 can easily display this information so thatthe user can determine when to reasonably expect a response to a recentcommunication from the person 132.

Other communication statistics 140 displayed in the profile 130 in FIG.1B include the total number of communications received from the person132, the total number of communications sent to the person 132, and arank 144. The rank 144 can be the rank of the person 132 compared to allother persons that the user communicates with. The rank 144 can bebased, for example, on total communications exchanged, total number ofattachments exchanged, total number of communications sent, total numberof communications received, length of communications or importance ofcommunications.

Communication statistics 140 can be displayed as graphs or charts asshown in FIG. 1B, or as text. In some implementations, statistics can bedisplayed in the profile 130 or in an additional panel or pop-up windowas “fun facts”. For example, when viewing a profile for someone named“Matt Miller”, the profile can display a message that reads “Matt'sbirthday is next week”. In another example, a pop-up bubble with themessage “Your last communication with Matt was 21 days ago” can bedisplayed. In another example, a panel can display a message reading“You send Matt 20 times as many messages as he sends you.”

Another example of a fun fact that can be displayed is “Matt is your5^(th) most e-mailed contact”. Another example of a fun fact that can bedisplayed is “your most e-mailed contact is Steve.” Another example of afun fact that can be displayed is “the fastest responder to yourcommunications is Garrett.” The fun facts can include any combination ofcommunication statistics, communication information, contactinformation, or contact statistics.

In some implementations, communication statistics 140 can be shared withother persons. For example, the user can choose to share communicationstatistics with the person 132. The person 132 will then be able to viewcommunication statistics 140 about his or her communications with theuser. In some implementations, the user can indicate that one or morepersons are trusted contacts. Communication statistics 140 can beautomatically shared with all persons indicated as trusted contacts.Other information, such as calendar information, contact information, orcontact network information can also be shared with trusted contacts.

The profile 130 can include contact information 146. The contactinformation 146 displayed can include e-mail addresses, telephonenumbers, screen names, social network profile names, social networkprofile URLs, physical addresses, facsimile numbers, or website URLs.The contact information 146 can be collected from a variety of sourcesincluding communications between the person 132 and the user,communications between the user and other persons, e-mail body text,e-mail meta data, e-mail header information, e-mail attachments, websearch engines, people search engines, social networks, e-mail clients,instant messages, personal web pages, telephone directories, scannedbusiness card data, text messages, picture sharing websites, videosharing websites, profile pages, telephone communications, or customerrelationship management systems. For example, when the user receives ane-mail from a person, that person's e-mail address can be added to thelist of contact information 146 for that person's profile 130. Inanother example, when the user makes a phone call to a person, thatperson's telephone number can be added to the list of contactinformation 146 for that person's profile 130.

In some implementations, contact information 146 can be extracted fromthe body, subject, or meta data of a communication between the user andthe person 132. For example, if the user receives an e-mail from theperson 132 with a signature block at the end that includes a telephonenumber, facsimile number, and screen name for the person 132, thiscontact information can be extracted from the e-mail and added to thelist of contact information 146 for the person 132's profile 130. Inanother example, an e-mail from a person can include an address for theperson in the body of the e-mail or in an attachment to the e-mail, thisaddress can be extracted from the e-mail or attachment and added to thelist of contact information 146 for that person's profile 130. Inanother example, the person 132 can leave a social network post for theuser telling the user the person 132's instant message screen name, thisscreen name can be added to the list of contact information 146 for theperson 132's profile 130.

In some implementations, contact information 146 for the person 132 canbe extracted from a communication from a third party. For example, theuser can receive an e-mail from Bill that contains the text “Mary's cellphone number is 608-555-5353”. This phone number can be extracted fromBill's e-mail and added to the list of contact information 146 forMary's profile 130. In another example, the user can receive an e-mailwith an attachment that contains a list of telephone numbers, e-mailaddresses, and office numbers for everyone in the user's office. Thetelephone number, e-mail address, and office number for each personlisted on the attachment can be extracted and added to the list ofcontact information 146 for the profiles 130 of each person listed onthe attachment.

Contact information 146 can be extracted from multiple sources,including multiple e-mail clients, multiple web mail systems, multipleinstant message clients, multiple telephone numbers, multiple socialnetworks, or multiple web pages.

In some implementations, contact information 146 can be collected usingsearch engines, telephone directories, or people search engines. Searchcriteria can include e-mail addresses, names, screen names, socialnetwork profile names, phone numbers, personal website URLs, socialnetwork profile URLs, facsimile numbers or physical addresses. Forexample, a search of a telephone directory or people search engine for“Rex Banner” can return a telephone number for Rex Banner. Thistelephone number can then be added to the list of contact information146 for Rex Banner's profile 130. In another example, a people search orweb search for the e-mail address “alewis@example.com” can return a URLfor a social network profile for Adam Lewis. The name “Adam Lewis” canthen be associated with the e-mail address “alewis@example.com” in aprofile 130. In addition, the social network profile URL and socialnetwork screen name for Adam Lewis can be added to the list of contactinformation 146 for Adam Lewis' profile 130. Furthermore, additionalcontact information, that is listed on the social network profile forAdam Lewis, such as additional e-mail addresses, phone numbers, instantmessage screen names, etc., can be extracted from the social networkprofile and added to the list of contact information 146 for Adam Lewis'profile 130.

In another example, a web search or person search for a person canreturn a photo or video sharing website profile for the person. The URLor screen name for the person's photo or video sharing website profilecan be added to the list of contact information 146 for the person'sprofile 130. In addition, the photo or video sharing website may containadditional contact information for the person that can be extracted andadded to the list of contact information 146 for the person's profile130.

In another example, contact information 146 for the person 132 caninclude an e-mail address “jertel@examplecompanyltd.com”. A web searchcan be performed to identify the website associated with the e-mailextension “examplecompanyltd.com”. For example, this e-mail extensioncan be associated with a company called “Example Company ltd.” Thewebsite for Example Company ltd. can then be searched for informationabout the person 132. The website may include a profile page for theperson 132 that includes contact information that can be added to thelist of contact information 146 for the person 132's profile 130. Inaddition, the URL for the profile page can be added to the list ofcontact information 146 for the person 132's profile 130.

In some implementations, the address for a person can be used to refinethe search results for that person by constricting the results toinformation about persons in a specific geographic area. For example, ifa search is being performed for information on a person with a commonname, such as “Bill Johnson”, and Bill Johnson's address is known, thesearch results can be refined by restricting the results to informationabout person's named Bill Johnson in the city of the known address. Insome implementations, other information about a person can be used torefine search results for that person.

In some implementations, contact information can be extracted from ashared network drive or through a secure connection. In someimplementations, contact information can be automatically shared betweensystems. For example, the person 132 can elect to share contactinformation with all people in a trusted network, such as all peoplewith e-mail extensions from the same company. A computer belonging tothe person 132 can then automatically send contact information to alltrusted people. If the user is in the network of trusted people, theperson 132's contact information will automatically be shared with acomputer or system belonging to the user.

In some implementations, contact information for the person 132 can bemanually added or removed from the profile 130 by the user. In someimplementations, contact information for the person 132 can be manuallyadded or removed from the profile by the person 132 or by a third party.In some implementations, the user can choose which contact informationfor each person is displayed in that person's profile.

In some implementations, when a mouse cursor or other selection tool ishovered over/indicates a piece of contact information in the list ofcontact information 146, a pop-up bubble or other indicator can bedisplayed which indicates the source from which the piece of contactinformation was received or extracted. For example, if a phone numberhas been extracted from an e-mail, a hover bubble can be displayed whichshows the e-mail or a portion of the e-mail where the phone number wasextracted with the extracted info highlighted or demarcated in some way.

In some implementations, the user can be allowed to validate contactinformation in the list of contact information 146. Validated contactinformation can be indicated as validated, and un-validated contactinformation can be indicated as un-validated. For example, if a phonenumber for the person 132 is extracted from an e-mail, the user can lookat the phone number to determine if it is indeed the correct phonenumber for the person 132. If the user believes that the phone number iscorrect, the user can choose to validate the phone number. The phonenumber can then be displayed along with an indication that it has beenvalidated, such as with a check mark icon, or text that reads “valid”.If the user is unsure if the phone number is correct, or has not takenthe time to validate the phone number, the phone number can be displayedwith an indication that it has not been validated, such as with aquestion mark icon, or the text “not validated”.

In some implementations, presence of the person 132 can be indicated forsome or all of the contact information on the list of contactinformation 146. For example, an indicator next to a person's instantmessage screen name can indicated if the person is currently logged ontothe related instant message network. In another example, an indicatornext to a person's social network screen name or URL can indicate if theperson is currently logged onto the related social network or if theperson has made a recent update to his or her social network profile. Inanother example, an indicator next to a person's e-mail address canindicate if the person has put up an away message or out of the officemessage.

In some implementations, the profile 130 can display information aboutthe person 132's current location. If the person 132 is in possession ofa GPS unit, GPS enabled phone, or other location detection device, theperson 132 can choose to share his or her location information. Thereare several services that allow a person to share location informationwith other people. The person 132 can choose to share his or herlocation information with the user. The profile 130 can then display thecurrent location of the person 132. This location information can bedisplayed as an address, map coordinates, or a graphic of a map with anicon to indicate the person 132's present location.

Other information about the person 132 that can be displayed on theprofile 130 can include birthday, gender, age, job title, employer,universities attended, family information, or other biographical data.Information from Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMs) aboutor related to the person 132 can also be displayed in the profile 130.Information about calendar items or scheduled meetings related to theperson 132 or related to a communication can also be displayed as partof the profile 130.

In some implementations, information from one or more websites can bedisplayed as a chronological feed of information in the profile 130.This information can be queried on the web via one or more searchengines or from one or more specific websites through establishedassociations between the person 132 and the one or more websites. Forexample, this information can be found by general searching, peoplesearching, or querying websites where it has been established that theperson 132 is generating content or is the subject of content on thewebsite. Search terms for these searches can include e-mail addresses,names, screen names, social network profile names, phone numbers,personal website URLs, social network profile URLs, or physicaladdresses. Information that is extracted from communications with theperson 132 can also be used as search criteria.

The profile 130 can include a schedule time link 148. The user can clickon/interact with the schedule time link 148 to send a communication tothe person 132 to request a meeting or to send the user's schedule tothe person 132. For example, clicking on the schedule time link 148 cancause an e-mail to be automatically composed that is addressed to theperson 132 that contains all of the times over the course of the nextweek that the user is available during business hours. This scheduleinformation can be extracted from a calendar associated with an e-mailclient, web mail account, social network account, instant messagingprogram, telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or websitebelonging to the user or associated with the user. In addition, scheduleinformation can be extracted from a calendar stored on a computer,network drive, or other data storage location belonging to or associatedwith the user. In one implementation, clicking on the schedule time link148 can cause a communication to be sent to the person 132 requestingschedule information from the person 132.

The profile 130 can also include one or more initiate communicationlinks 150. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, the initiate communicationlink 150 displayed will cause an e-mail addressed to the person 132 tobe automatically generated when it is clicked on. Other forms ofcommunication that can be initiated using an initiate communication link150 include telephone calls, instant messages, text messages, socialnetwork messages, social network posts, message board posts, facsimiles,or voice over IP communications. For example, the profile 130 caninclude a “call Jen” link that can cause the user's cell phone to dialJen's phone number when clicked on. In another example, the profile 130can include an “instant message” link that when clicked on, can cause aninstant message program to automatically open and generate an instantmessage addressed to a screen name of the person 132.

The profile 130 can include a contact network 152. The contact network152 can include a list of contacts associated with the person 132. Thecontact network 152 can be populated using the methods previouslydescribed in the description of FIG. 1A. The profile 130 can alsodisplay the total number of contacts associated with the person 132 inthe contact network 152. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, the contactnetwork 152 displayed in the profile 130 indicates that there are 50contacts in Jen's contact network 152.

Clicking on, selecting, or interacting with one or more contacts fromthe contact network 152 can cause one or more actions to occur. In oneimplementation, selecting a contact from the contact network 152 cancause a profile for that contact to be displayed. In anotherimplementation, selecting one or more contacts from the contact network152 can cause a communication directed to the selected contacts to beinitiated. For example, selecting three contacts from the contactnetwork 152 can cause an e-mail addressed to the three contacts to begenerated. In another example, clicking on three contacts from thecontact network 152 can cause the user's telephone to initiate aconference call with the selected contacts. In another implementation,selecting one or more contacts from the contact list can cause acommunication directed to the selected contacts and the person 132 to begenerated.

In some implementations, selecting a contact from the contact network152 can cause the most recent communication or conversation threadbetween the user and the selected contact to be displayed. In anotherimplementation, selecting a contact from the contact network 152 cancause the most recent communication or conversation thread involving thecontact, the person 132, and the user to be displayed. In someimplementations, moving a mouse cursor over a contact in the contactnetwork 152 can cause information about the contact to be displayed. Forexample, moving a cursor over a contact can cause a small pop-up bubbleto appear that displays the contact's phone number, e-mail address, orother contact information. In some implementations, contacts can bemanually added or removed from the contact network 152 by the user.

The profile 130 can include a conversation list 154 that includes a listof recent communications or conversation threads involving the user andthe person 132 as previously described in the description of FIG. 1A.The conversation list 154 can display the total number of communicationsor conversation threads involving the user and the person 132. In theexample shown in FIG. 1B, the conversation list 154 indicates that 2510conversation threads have occurred that involved the user and the person132.

Clicking on or selecting a conversation thread or communication in theconversation list 154 can cause a more detailed summary of theconversation thread or communication to be displayed. For example,selecting a conversation thread can cause a summary of one or morecommunications in the conversation thread to be displayed. In anotherexample, selecting a communication in the conversation list 154 cancause a summary of the communication to be displayed. In anotherimplementation, selecting a communication in the conversation list 154can cause the communication to be displayed. For example, selecting ane-mail from the conversation list 154 can cause the e-mail to bedisplayed.

In another implementation, selecting a conversation thread can cause themost recent communication to be received or the most recentcommunication to be sent in that conversation thread to be displayed. Inanother implementation, selecting a conversation thread in theconversation list 154 can cause the first communication in thatconversation thread to be displayed. In another implementation,selecting a conversation thread from the conversation list 154 can causea communication addressed to all of the participants of the conversationthread to be generated. For example, selecting an e-mail conversationthread can cause an e-mail to be automatically generated that isaddressed to all of the e-mail addresses involved with the selectedconversation thread. In some implementations, communications orconversation threads can be manually added or removed from theconversations list 154 by the user

The profile 130 can include a files exchanged list 156. The filesexchanged list 156 can contain a list of files exchanged between theuser and the person 132 as previously described in the description ofFIG. 1A. For each file listed in the files exchanged list 156, theprofile 130 can display a file name, a file title, an icon, the time ordate when the file was received, the amount of time that has elapsedsince the file was received, the subject of the communication to whichthe file was attached, or other information about the file. Iconsdisplayed next to a file name or file title can indicate what type ofdocument the file is. In the example depicted, a file 158 with the filename “sturgeon 001.jpg” is displayed. An icon next to the file name forthe file 158 indicates that the file 158 is a picture file. A date nextto the file name indicates that the file 158 was received on April 23.

Clicking on or selecting a file in the files exchanged list 156 cancause the file to open. In another implementation, selecting a file cancause the communication to which the file was attached to be displayed.In another implementation, selecting a file can cause a list of fileswith the same file name to be displayed. This allows the differentversions of a document that has undergone several rounds of revisions tobe reviewed and compared to each other. In another implementation,selecting a file can cause a summary of the file to be generated anddisplayed. For example, hovering a cursor over a file in the filesexchanged list 156 can cause an information bubble containing the titleand first few lines of the file to be displayed. This list of files caninclude a time and date stamp for each version of the file so that themost recent revision can be easily identified. In some implementations,files can be copied from the files exchanged list 156 to otherlocations. In some implementations, files can be manually added orremoved from the files exchanged list by the user.

The profile 130 can include one or more menu buttons 160. The menubuttons can be used to change personal settings or preferences, changeviewing preferences, or access menus or help information. The profile130 can also include a minimize button 162 that can cause the profile130 to minimize or close. When the minimize button 162 is clicked orselected, a minimized version of the profile 130 that takes up lessspace in a viewing window can be displayed. The minimized version of theprofile 130 can include a summary of some or all of the informationdisplayed by the profile 130.

FIG. 1C shows a viewing panel 164. The viewing panel 164 can display aprofile such as the profile 130 of FIG. 1B. The viewing panel 164 canalso display information about communications, communicationattachments, files, or conversation threads. In the example shown inFIG. 1C the viewing panel 164 displays information about a conversationthread 166. The information about the conversation thread 166 can bedisplayed in response to a user clicking on a conversation thread 166 ina conversation list, such as the conversation list 154 from FIG. 1B. Theconversation thread 166 can also be displayed in response to the userviewing, reading, selecting, opening, or writing a communication that ispart of the currently displayed conversation thread 166. In someimplementations, the conversation thread 166 can be displayed inresponse to a search performed by the user. For example, the user canuse a search bar 168 to search for a conversation thread 166 based onthe subject of the conversation thread 166, participants in theconversation thread 166, files attached to communications in theconversation thread 166, or key words or terms in the communications ofthe conversation thread 166.

The viewing panel 164 can include one or more navigation buttons 170.The navigation buttons 170 can include a profile view navigation button172. The profile view navigation button 172 can be used to return theviewing panel 164 to a profile view so that the viewing panel 164displays information about the sender or recipient of a currentlyselected communication, or another person as indicated by the user. Thenavigation buttons 170 can also include a back button 174. The backbutton 174 can be used to display a profile, conversation thread, orother information that was previously displayed in the viewing panel164. For example, if the user was previously viewing a profile for aperson named Mark Wagner, clicking on the back button 174 can cause theviewing panel 164 to display the profile for Mark Wagner. In anotherexample, if the user was previously viewing information about an e-mailattachment, clicking on the back button 174 can cause the viewing panel164 to display the previously viewed e-mail attachment information.

The navigation buttons 170 can also display a navigation history thathas lead to the current information being displayed in the viewing panel164. In the example shown in FIG. 1C, the navigation buttons 170indicate that the user first viewed a profile for Jen Ertel. The userthen viewed a profile for Jerri Clark Wagner. The user may have openedthe profile for Jerri Clark Wagner by clicking on the name Jerri ClarkWagner in a contact network or list of contacts on Jen Ertel's profile,or by performing a search for Jerri Clark Wagner, or other informationassociated with Jerri Clark Wagner. The navigation buttons 170 indicatethat the user then viewed a profile for Mark Wagner. The user may havecaused the current conversation thread 166 to be displayed by clickingon a conversation thread in a conversation list similar to theconversation list 124 from FIG. 1A. In some implementations, clicking onor selecting any of the buttons in the navigation history can cause theviewing panel 164 to display the profile, conversation thread,communication, communication attachment, or other information associatedwith the selected navigation button 170.

The viewing panel 164 can include a title bar 176. The title bar 176 caninclude the type of information being displayed in the viewing panel,the subject, and other key information. When the information beingdisplayed in the viewing panel 164 is a conversation thread 166, thetitle bar 176 can indicate that a conversation is being viewed, thetitle or subject line of the conversation thread, the number ofcommunications involved in the conversation thread, the types ofcommunications involved in the conversation thread, or the number ofpeople involved in the conversation thread. In the example shown, thetitle bar 176 indicates that a conversation is being viewed, that thesubject line of the communications in the conversation thread 166 is“dinner?”, that there are 8 people involved in conversation thread 166,that 18 communications are included in the conversation thread 166, andthat all 18 communications are e-mails.

The viewing panel 164 can include a summary of some or all of thecommunications 178 that make up the conversation thread 166. Informationdisplayed as part of the summary for each communication 178 can includethe sender of the communication 178, the recipients of the communication178, the time or day that the communication 178 was sent or received,attachments to the communication 178, the first few lines or sentencesof the communication 178, the importance of the communication 178, orthe number of recipients of the communication 178. For example, ane-mail summary 180 indicates that the user sent an e-mail in response toan e-mail from Jerri 1 week ago and that 5 additional recipients werealso listed on the e-mail. The e-mail summary 180 also displays thefirst lines of the e-mail sent to Jerri.

In some implementations, clicking on or selecting a communicationsummary in the conversation thread 166 can cause the relatedcommunication to be displayed. For example, clicking on the e-mailsummary 180 can cause the e-mail sent from the user to Jerri to bedisplayed. In another example, selecting a communication summary in theconversation thread 166 can cause a profile for the sender or one ormore recipients of the related communication to be displayed. In anotherexample, selecting a communication summary in the conversation thread166 can cause one or more attachments or a list of attachments to therelated communication to be displayed. In another implementation,selecting a communication summary in the conversation thread 166 cancause a communication addressed to the sender or one or more recipientsof the related communication to be automatically generated. In someimplementations, selecting a communication summary in the conversationthread 166 can cause a more detailed summary for the relatedcommunication to be displayed.

The viewing panel 164 can include a detail adjustment control 182. thedetail adjustment control 182 can be used to modify the amount of detailthat is displayed in each communication summary in the conversation list166. In one implementation, adjusting the detail adjustment control 182can increase or decrease the number of words or lines of a body of acommunication that are displayed in each communication summary. Inanother implementation, adjusting the detail adjustment control 182 canincrease or decrease the amount of information that is displayed foreach communication summary. For example, the detail adjustment controlcan be changed to display an e-mail address and phone number for eachsender or recipient of each communication 178 in the correspondingcommunication summary. In another example, the detail adjustment control182 can be used to control what information is used to identify sendersor recipients of communications 178 in each communication summary.Information used to identify senders or recipients can include names,nick names, screen names, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, socialnetwork profile names, or company names.

In some implementations in which some or all of the communications thatmake up a conversation thread 166 are telephone calls or voice over IPcommunications, audio recordings of some or all of the telephone callsor voice over IP communications can be displayed in the conversationthread 166. Clicking on or selecting a telephone call or voice over IPcommunication in the conversation thread 166 can cause an audiorecording of the communication to play. In some implementations,automatically or manually created transcripts of telephone calls orvoice over IP communications that make up part or all of a conversationthread 166 can be displayed. In some implementations, a summary of atranscript of the audio communication can be displayed as part of acommunication summary in the conversation thread 166. Clicking on orselecting a communication summary of a telephone call or voice over IPcommunication for which a transcript exists can cause the fulltranscript of the audio communication to be displayed, or an audio fileof the audio communication to play.

The viewing panel 164 can include a conversation participants list 184.The conversation participants list 184 can be a list of senders andrecipients of the communications 178 that make up the conversationthread 166. Information about each participant in the conversationthread 166 can be displayed, including name, contact information, numberof communications initiated in the displayed conversation thread 166,and other relevant information. The conversation participants list 184can also indicate the total number of participants involved in theconversation thread 166.

In some implementations, clicking on or selecting a person listed in theconversation participants list 184 can cause a profile for the selectedperson to be displayed. In another implementation, selecting a personfrom the conversation participants list 184 can automatically generate acommunication addressed to the selected person. In anotherimplementation, selecting a person from the conversation participantslist 184 can cause all communications or summaries of communicationsfrom the current conversation thread 166 that were initiated by theselected person to be displayed.

The viewing panel 164 can include a files exchanged list 186. The filesexchanged list 186 can display a list of files that have been exchangedin the current conversation thread 166. For example, the files exchangedlist 186 can list all of the files that have been attached tocommunications 178 in the conversation thread 166. Clicking on orselecting a file from the files exchanged list 186 can cause theselected file to open. In another implementation, selecting a file fromthe files exchanged list 186 can cause one or more communications towhich the file was attached to be displayed. In another implementation,selecting a file from the files exchanged list 186 can cause one or morecommunication summaries for communications to which the file wasattached to be displayed.

FIG. 2A shows an example summary of communications sent/received 200. Insome implementations, the summary 200 includes text and graphics thatprovide an easy-to-read count of a user's sent and received emailmessages. The summary 200 can also provide a relative ranking of theuser as compared to other users known to the communication system 100and the number of communications the other users have sent and/orreceived. The example shown includes only a summary of messages sentfrom within the communication system 100. In some implementations, thesummary can include statistics for plural different types ofcommunications between the sender and recipient including thoseassociated with other communication systems (e.g., text messagingsystems, telephony systems, instant messaging systems, social networkmessaging systems) as is described in greater detail below. The summary200 can appear in one or more places, such as on a user's public socialnetworking page (e.g., MySpace, Facebook, etc.), within the user's emailclient, on the user's personal website, etc. The data used to populatethe summary 200 can be collected over time by the communication system100 and transmitted to third-party applications (e.g., MySpace,Facebook, etc.). For example, the data can provide a real-time ornear-real-time count of messages that the user sends and receives. Inthis way, users can share email statistics with their friends, familyand coworkers, compare statistics with other users in a community,create an “email weather report” or “dashboard” where statistics areaggregated across different user groups on a regional or other basis(e.g., by age, gender, occupation, etc.), and so on.

FIG. 2B shows another example summary of messages sent/received 202. Thesummary 202 provides some of the same information as the summary 200,yet in a different format. Each of the summaries 200 and 202 can includedata not present in the other summary. In some implementations, othersummaries similar to (or significantly different from) summaries 200 and202 can be used. In some implementations, the summaries 200 and 202 cansummarize other types of messages, such as instant messages, textmessages, phone messages, website hits, blog hits, etc. For example, auser can have multiple summaries 200 and 202, each being for a differenttype of messaging system.

In some implementations, summaries 200 and 202 can combine statisticsfor multiple types of messaging systems or more than one messagingsystem of a given type. For example, the summaries 200 and 202 cancombine some statistics (e.g., number of contacts, ranking, etc.) frommessages on a user's email client, social networking page, instantmessaging system, and other messaging systems. In another example, if auser has multiple email accounts, the system 100 can combine theaccounts' statistics into a single summary.

As depicted in FIG. 2A, the summary 200 includes a user identifier 204,a rank 206, a percentile display 208, various email counters 210, anemails received graph 212, and an emails sent graph 214. The useridentifier 204 can display the name of the user (e.g., “Adam Smith”)whose messages are represented by the summary 200. The rank 206 canidentify the user's overall rank within a community, such as thecommunity of existing “Xobni” users. For example, if the rank is 1180,then that means that the user has the 1180^(th) highest total of emailssent and received. A percentile display 208 can include graphics andtext that indicate the user's percentile within the group. For example,a percentile display 208 of 80 (e.g., corresponding to the rank 206 of1180) can mean that the user is in the 80th percentile of number ofmessages. As a result, the percentile display 208 can state “80^(th)percentile” and depict a pointer that is positioned at the 80% point onthe bar.

In some implementations, the user can use one or more controls on thesummary 200 to change the period of time upon which the rank 206 and thepercentile display 208 are calculated. In some implementations, the usercan choose to specify the time period for which to receive statistics,such as the last year, the previous two months, the last week, or anyother user-specified time period.

The email counters 210 can include various quantitative facts, such asthe number of emails received today, the number of unread emails, theelapsed time since the user last checked email, and so on. The emailcounters 210 can also include various “fun facts” such as the name ofthe person who has sent the user the most messages, the fastestresponder, the slowest responder, the number of other contacts who haveemailed the user, etc.

The messages received graph 212 can show a distribution of messagesreceived over time. For example, the messages received graph 212depicted in FIG. 2A shows the distribution of email messages receivedover the last 24-hour period. In the example shown, the vertical axisdepicts the relative count of email messages, and the horizontal axisrepresents time in one-hour increments. In this example, the user canquickly scan the percentile display 208 and determine, based the heightof the bars, that the highest concentration of email message generallyspans the 6 am to 3 pm time period.

The messages sent graph 214 can show a distribution of messages sentover the same period as the messages received graph 212, or it may showa different time period's statistics. In some implementations, thesystem 100 can include one or more controls that allow the user toadjust the timeframe upon which graphs 212 and 214 are calculated.

The summary 200 can be used as a collection point for displaying andsharing a user's email usage statistics, including fun facts. In someimplementations, the summary can be implemented in a blog or websitewidget. To produce a summary such as the summary 200, the system 100 cancreate an electronic feed of email statistics, usage, metrics, etc.,which can be used to create third-party apps or any display widgetwithin a blog, website, or social network. The display widget cancompare these statistics with a community or with friends.

In some implementations, summaries such as summary 200 and summary 202can be included in emails. For example, a user can configure hismessaging system to include summaries or portions thereof in emailsignatures, auto replies, etc. In some implementations, the user canmake use of rules or other settings in the associated communicationsystems to designate the summaries included in communications (e.g.,email messages) to specific recipients, for specific subjects, and soon. In some implementations, user-configurable settings can allow theuser to turn on and off certain features of summaries 200 and 202. Forexample, the user may want to disable the amount of statisticalinformation at certain times (e.g., during lunch, on weekends, whileaway on vacation, etc.). In some implementations, user-configurablesettings can allow the user to identify other specific users with whichto share information and/or send auto-replies containing summaries 200and/or 202.

As depicted in FIG. 2B, the summary 202 includes a user identifier 216,a hot/cold meter 218, an emails received count 220, a new contacts count222, a comparison graph 224, a rank 226, a last-updated time 228, and a“get this” link 230. The user identifier 216 can display the name of theuser (e.g., “Bryan Kennedy”) whose messages are represented by thesummary 202. The emails received count 220 can display a count of theuser's email message received so far during the day. The new contactscount 222 can identify, for example, the number of unique contactsincluded in the emails received count 220.

The comparison graph 224 can display bars representing the number ofemails received for the current day in comparison to previous days(e.g., the last seven days). In some implementations, the user can usecontrols (not shown) in the summary 202 to change the number of daysdisplayed in the graph. The rank 226 can identify the user's rankedpercentile within the community of users based on the number of messagesreceived. The last-updated time 228 can identify the date and time thatthe summary 202 was last updated with a feed from the user's messagingsystem.

The get this link 230 can provide a link to anyone viewing the summary202 who may want to download and install the application that producesthe summary 202, such as if the user wants a similar display on hispublic social networking page. In some implementations, the link 230 canallow the user to specify particular statistical fields and/or displaysso that the user can build a customized display. For example, the user'sdisplay can be similar to either summary 200 or 202 or something totallydifferent.

FIG. 3 shows an example communication delivery system 300. In the system300, a first device (e.g., computer 302) belonging to a first user cantransmit a communication to a second device (e.g., computer 304)belonging to a second user over a computer network 306. The computernetwork 306 can be the Internet, an intranet, a LAN system or acompany's internal computer network. In some implementations, thecomputer 302 and the computer 304 can be desktop computers, laptopcomputers, cell phones, web enabled televisions, or personal digitalassistants. The communication transmitted from the computer 302 to thecomputer 304 can be an e-mail, phone call, instant message, textmessage, social network message or comment, message board post, or voiceover IP communication.

The computer 304 can extract data from the communication about the firstuser. This data can be used to make a profile similar to the profile 130shown in FIG. 1B. Data extracted from other communications with thefirst user can also be used to create a profile for the first user. Datathat is extracted from communications with the first user can be used toquery websites, search engines, person search directories and othersources of information for additional information about the first userthat can be used to create a profile. Information from communicationsthat can be used as search criteria include names, screen names, socialnetwork profile names, social network profile URLs, physical addresses,website URLs, e-mail addresses, or telephone numbers. Information thatis collected as a result of these queries can be used in future searchesto identify additional information that can be used to create a profile.

For example, the computer 304 can receive an e-mail sent by the firstuser from the computer 302. The computer 304 can perform a search usinga search engine 308 with the first user's e-mail address as the searchcriteria. The search engine 308 can return a search result that includesthe first user's phone number. This phone number can be displayed aspart of a profile for the first user. The search engine 308 can alsoreturn the URL for or link to a personal website 310 belonging to thefirst user. The personal website 310 may contain additional informationabout the first user that can be used to create a profile, such asadditional contact information or biographical information. The personalwebsite 310 may also contain widgets or other displays, such assummaries 200 and 202, that provide communication statistics for theuser.

In another example, the computer 304 can perform a search using a personsearch directory 314 with the first user's name or other contactinformation as the search criteria. The person search directory 314 canreturn search results with additional contact information and otherinformation that can be used to create a profile for the first user. Insome implementations, the system 100 can use information from the personsearch directory 314 to produce portions of the communication statisticssummaries 200 and 202.

In another example, the computer 304 can receive an e-mail sent by thefirst user from the computer 302. The e-mail can contain a socialnetwork profile name for the first user. The computer 304 can extractthis social network profile name from the e-mail and use it to access asocial network webpage 316. The social network webpage 316 can containadditional contact information and other information that can beextracted and used to create a profile for the first user. The socialnetwork webpage 316 can also contain additional contacts that can beassociated with the first user in a profile. For example, persons on thefriends list of the social network webpage 316, or persons who haveposted comments or messages on the social network webpage 316, can belisted as contacts in a contact network for the first user.

The communication delivery system 300 can include a communicationstatistics module 320. In some implementations, the communicationstatistics module 320 can continuously monitor communications sharedbetween computers 202 and 204 and use the information to generatecommunication usage statistics. For example, the statistics may bedisplayed within summaries 200 and/or 202. The communication statisticsmodule 320 may be responsible for synchronizing the information, forexample, by providing data feeds to social network pages 316, personalwebsites 310, etc. The data feeds can include message statistics such asthe number of messages sent and received by the user, the number ofunique contacts, etc.

In some implementations, the communication statistics module 320 mayprovide information when queried. For example, a communication system100 running on the computer 202 may occasionally request “fun fact”statistics such as the average response time of the user's contact whoresponds the fastest to the user's messages. In some implementations,“fun facts” or other statistical information can be generated from pastevents (e.g., messages sent and received) associated with a user'sexisting communication system, such as when the communication system isinitially installed on a user's computer 202 and generates statisticsfrom the user's existing inbox. In some implementations, these facts canbe displayed to the user who can optionally include the facts inpre-formatted click-and-send messages to the corresponding contacts.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process 400 for collecting andpresenting historical communication and personal data. The process 400can, for example, be implemented in a system such as the system 100 ofFIG. 1A. In another example, the process 400 can be implemented in asystem such as the communication delivery system 300 of FIG. 3.

Stage 402 collects historical communication data and personal data. Forexample, communications such as e-mails, instant messages, phone calls,text messages, internet message board postings, social network messagesor comments, or voice over IP communications can be collected.Historical communication data and personal data can also be collectedfrom web search engines, people search engines, social networks, e-mailclients, personal web pages, telephone directories, scanned businesscard data, picture sharing websites, video sharing websites, profilepages, travel websites, on-line retailers, or customer relationshipmanagement systems.

The collected historical communication data and personal data caninclude contact information, biographical information, communicationtext, communication summaries, physical location information, mappinginformation, attachments to communications, weather information, travelinformation, and retail information.

Stage 404 generates usage statistics based on the collected historicaldata and personal data. For example, the usage statistics can includecounts of messages sent and received, the number of contacts that a userhas, the relative timeframe in which messages are sent and received, thecontacts sending the most messages to the user, the contact receivingthe most messages from the user, and any other statistics associatedwith communications and/or contacts.

Stage 406 monitors communications and user behavior. For example, overtime the user may send and/or receive additional messages, such asemail, text messages, instant messages, etc. In another example, a usermay receive messages from (or send messages to) new contacts,essentially increasing the number of unique contacts with which the userinteracts. In yet another example, the messages sent and received mayfollow a different pattern of faster or slower response times thanbefore.

Stage 408 updates usage statistics over time. For example, user actions(and those of the user's contacts) may affect the statistics alreadygenerated, and as such, the statistics can be updated. Over time,timeframe-dependent statistics (e.g., messages received by the user on aparticular day) may be retained until after a pre-defined.

Stage 410 presents usage statistics. For example, the usage statisticspresented can include the information presented in the summaries 200 and202 described in reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. Depending on where thesummaries 200 and 202 are displayed, the application that displays theinformation can rely on feeds of updated statistical data from thecommunication system 100 or the communication statistics module 320.

The apparatus, methods, flow diagrams, and structure block diagramsdescribed in this patent document may be implemented in computerprocessing systems including program code comprising programinstructions that are executable by the computer processing system.Other implementations may also be used. Additionally, the flow diagramsand structure block diagrams described in this patent document, whichdescribe particular methods and/or corresponding acts in support ofsteps and corresponding functions in support of disclosed structuralmeans, may also be utilized to implement corresponding softwarestructures and algorithms, and equivalents thereof.

This written description sets forth the best mode of the invention andprovides examples to describe the invention and to enable a person ofordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. This writtendescription does not limit the invention to the precise terms set forth.Thus, while the invention has been described in detail with reference tothe examples set forth above, those of ordinary skill in the art mayeffect alterations, modifications and variations to the examples withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention.

1. A computer-implemented method comprising: collecting historicalcommunication data and personal data relating to a portion of aplurality of communications, a sender of one or more of thecommunications or one or more recipients of the communications;depositing the collected data into a repository; generating usagestatistics based on the historical communication and personal data;updating the usage statistics over time; and presenting usage statisticsin response to user behavior.
 2. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the user behavior is selected from the group comprisingopening a communication, viewing a communication, reading acommunication, writing a communication, performing a search, selecting aperson's name, selecting a communication summary, and selecting anattribute associated with the one or more items.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein collecting historicalcommunication data and personal data further comprises querying one ormore sources of information to derive the historical communication data,the personal data and the usage statistics.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 3, wherein the sources are selected from the groupcomprising e-mail body text, e-mail meta data, e-mail headerinformation, e-mail attachments, web search engines, people searchengines, social networks, e-mail clients, instant messages, personal webpages, telephone directories, scanned business card data, text messages,picture sharing websites, video sharing websites, profile pages,telephone communications, customer relationship management systems,airline flight data, on-line retailer data, news feeds, and stockquotes.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereincollecting historical communication data and personal data furthercomprises directly requesting information from a sender of acommunication or one or more recipients of the communication.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein presenting usagestatistics further comprises displaying the usage statistics in anadditional panel within an e-mail client, web browser, or instantmessage window.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, where thepanel is a sidebar.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein presenting usage statistics further comprises displaying theusage statistics in a pop-up window.
 9. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein presenting usage statistics further comprisesdisplaying the usage statistics integrated with a body of acommunication using one or more display methods selected from the groupcomprising highlighting, underlining, adding hyper links, adding text,adding images, adding video, and adding attachments.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein presenting usagestatistics further comprises presenting the usage statistics along withone or more items from the repository, the one or more items beingselected from the group comprising contact information, communicationsummaries, conversation threads, attachments to communications,communication statistics, related contacts, travel information, weatherinformation, and information related to on-line retail purchases. 11.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: trackingmouse movements, mouse locations, keyboard strokes, mouse clicks, oractive windows in order to determine if the user has made an implicitrequest to view the usage statistics.
 12. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the historical communication data includesinformation selected from the group comprising times of communications,lengths of communications, subject matters of communications, titles ofcommunications, participants in communications, sources ofcommunications, response times of communications, types ofcommunications and volume of communications.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: sharing someor all of the usage statistics among a network of participants.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein sharing furthercomprises sharing different amounts of data with each participant basedon preference settings.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: allowing a user to select one or more of the one ormore presented items; automatically generating a communication inresponse to the user selection; and automatically presenting the usagestatistics in the communication.
 16. A computer-implemented method forcomparing communication statistics, the method comprising: collectingindividual or group communication usage statistics related tocommunications made over a communication network; storing the collectedusage statistics in a repository; comparing usage statistics betweenusers; and displaying comparative results.
 17. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 16, wherein the communication usage statistics areselected from the group comprising reading time, writing time, responsetime, time of day when communications are sent, number of unreadcommunications, and communication volume.